Marius Hermansen is poised to become group chief executive of Norwegian shipbroking giant Astrup Fearnley on 1 July.

Hermansen stepped down in March from his current role as chief operating officer of John Fredriksen's Seatankers Management, where he will work his last day on 30 June.

Hermansen told TradeWinds he will oversee the Astrup Fearnley group's investment banking and shipbroking activities for commercial, offshore and supply vessels.

"We have a supercycle ahead of us in most of our markets and we intend to be part of it," Hermansen told TradeWinds.

"We have 350 great people across the world in shipping, energy and new green business."

Even Matre Ellingsen, who has been group chief executive since early 2019, will continue as CEO of Astrup Fearnley Holding, the group's holding company, and will take responsibility for the group's real-estate portfolio.

Full circle

Hermansen's career has come full circle in gaining the top job at Astrup Fearnley.

Prior to joining the Fredriksen group, Hermansen worked for more than 10 years at Fearnleys, the group's shipbroking division.

Hermansen stepped down from his Seatankers role in March, telling TradeWinds at the time that the move was "fully my own decision".

Although he had been in his Seatankers role for just over 18 months, Hermansen had worked for Fredriksen companies since 2014, when he joined tanker company Frontline Management as director of sale-and-purchase projects.

He has already resigned from his position on the boards of Fredriksen's shipping companies Flex LNG, bulker owner Golden Ocean Group and Avance Gas, of which he has been chairman since 2017.

Hermansen was educated at the Norwegian School of Economics in Bergen, after which he began his career as a trainee in AP Moller-Maersk's finance division.

Changing roster

Hermansen's departure from Seatankers is one in a string of high-level personnel changes and shake-ups in the Fredriksen empire.

Fund manager Vegard Soraunet was brought in last year to restructure Fredriksen's Seatankers Group to help it invest outside shipping and oil and gas.

Seatankers Group said in September that Soraunet will focus on "long-term and active ownership" outside the company's traditional business areas.

Aeternum Capital, led by Soraunet, formally launched at the end of January with a slate of deals and dealmakers from outside ­Fredriksen’s core sectors.

Fredriksen's daughter Kathrine looks poised to inherit her father's shipping interests in the longer term.